A World Without
by Dishdog
Summary: What if, Aizen never existed? All his plans and machinations and their aftermath nonexistent. In this world, that is the reality, so what does it look like? People who should have died live, those that may have lived die. Without his meddling, Soul Society may look nothing like we know it. (AU, multiple OC's as well as altered Canon characters)
1. Chapter 1: Days at Shino

The elderly man grumbled as he stood behind the podium, his feet aching terribly as another student left the room, fuming about the test being 'unfair'. The teacher couldn't care less, he did this ever year and every year he dealt with the same things. _Well, at least it's over, looks like that was the last one. God I hate start of ye-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash and the sound of pounding footsteps. He looked up in surprise from his notes to see a small woman dressed in the typical peasant attire synonymous with the more dangerous districts of Ruknongai. She panted heavily for a few moments before looking up at him and wiping a generous amount of sweat from her face.

"Tanaka Cera, present for reiryoku exam!" she breathed out loudly before letting out another long breath and putting her hands on her knees. "I'm not too late am I?" she asked suddenly, noticing the man's obviously surprised and more than mildly annoyed face.

"No….no you are not late. Just step forward and place your hands on the sphere." The man instructed, gesturing lazily to the metallic orb that sat nestled in a bundle of pale blue cloth.

Cera approached the orb and sighed tiredly as she placed a calloused hand on it, grunting as she filled it with a bit of her reiryoku into it. The sphere glowed and began to grow slowly till she stopped, letting it settle on something the size of a basketball as both she and the elderly man observed it. He lightly stroked his mustache before giving an approving nod.

"Nice consistency, decent size….very good, Tanaka-san." The man complimented. "You're to head to the common area now, you'll pick up the required materials there and return again tomorrow when your class as been determined." he explained casually as he stepped away from his podium.

The young woman nodded with a smirk, giving a quick bow before quickly heading out the door, her grin only growing as the day went on.

_

The young maid sighed softly, picking up her mistress's tray of empty saucers and plates. "Sugiyama-gozen, I still don't think that I understand."  
>"Understand what, Chie?" the young noble asked with a chuckle as she reclined back against a pile of cushions and pillows. "And its Chikako when we're alone, remember?"<br>"Your interest in becoming a shinigami, you're to be the next head of the clan! Why would you risk yourself in such a dangerous job?" she cried, ignoring the informal suggestions.  
>The woman laughed, scratching the back of her neck. "Agh~ why become head of clan when I can become a Captain <em>and<em>Matriarch?" she countered. "Besides, it's so boring here! The only one that I have to hang out with is you and Kei-chan." She whined, rolling back onto her shoulders and pausing for a moment before rolling forward again and letting the momentum carry her up to her feet. "Now, I need to get going! So, send all the letters and other things to my new room. I'll know what it's gonna be today, hopefully it's a fun bunch."  
>"I'm sure you'll get advanced placement, in fact if you asked your mother I'm sure it could be arranged."<br>"I don't care if I get higher placement! I just want to meet good people who are fun to be around. Plus I doubt that anyone who's worth anything will care if I'm a noble or not." She mused as she headed to the door. "

_

The room wasn't too large, but it had enough space for Shao to be comfortable, or at least it would if not for his friend and roommate. He looked over the accused, an exceptionally tall man who was busying himself with setting out his things on the other side of the room. Shao had known Takeshi, the other boy, for his entire life and both had decided that coming to this place was the best way to make use of their natural talents, though neither was sure where it would take them.

"So, Takeshi, you getting any weird vibes from the other people around here?" he asked curiously, leaning back and brushing a mess of black hair behind his ear.

His tall friend just grunted, shaking his head, staying silent for a few moments more before sighing. "No. Why do you always ask me that anyway?"

Shao just grinned, shaking his head. "Anytime you get a bad vibe from someone, it always ends up right, for whatever reason." He explained. "So, felt anything weird at all?"

Takeshi sighed, shaking his head again. "No. Now get your things unpacked, if we're late for class on the first day it'll be a horrid impression."

"Yeah yeah, still don't like the uniforms though, think they'd let me change it up a little as long as I asked them?" Shao chuckled lightly, picking up his Asauchi and headed down the hall toward where there class was going to meet. "Well come on, let's get your giant butt moving."  
>The so called giant simply sighed, giving the smallest of smiles before following after his more talkative friend, slipping his own blade into his belt. The two made their way down the hall, drawing the gaze of a few due to Takeshi's great height and stern expression as well as Shao's fair face and cheerful gaze. Takeshi sighed lightly as he made his way into one of the many classrooms, this one was reserved for those who qualified for advanced placement: A small group of first year students that showed promise and were given special consideration by the staff. As they both took a seat they took in their surroundings.<p>

There were twenty seven others in the class with them, all of them recognized as being above their peers in some form. The majority were nobles, including one from the matriarchal Sugiyama clan, one of the very few families that were lead by the women of the clan. There were also other Rukongai natives, though there seemed to be far fewer compared to the amount of nobles, though that was to be expected he supposed. The pair grinned slightly as they saw what could only be their instructor entered.

Being the advanced placement instructor had a few perks: top of the class students, one of the best offices in the school, and a damn fine rate of pay, but Ayako Yamamori had always found that most of those that wound up here did very little with their lives after Shino. Now of course there were exceptions to the rule, such as Ichimaru Gin, or Hitsugaya Toshiro, but those two were a couple of years before her joining up. She waited till she was in the middle of the room before giving a slow nod as she looked around the new crop. Fresh faces, most looked like they had barely started holding a blade, but that was about how it was every year. Ayako grinned, taking a breath before speaking.

"Today you officially begin the greatest journey of your lives. I know you've all gotten the orientation speech, so don't worry this is only something to keep in mind. This journey, thought great as I said it would be, is also the journey most wrought with pain, strife, and anguish. The life as a true shinigami is not easy; you will lose friends and loved ones. You may die yourself, but if you persevere…if you truly believe in the title. You will achieve levels of personal achievement that you would never be near in your previous lives. My name is Yamamori Ayako, and there will be not one of you that I will let slip through these doors without putting every part of yourself into completing this journey!"

She stayed quiet for a moment before grinning slightly. "Well, now that the dramatics are out of the way. Let's begin the first class!"


	2. Chapter 2: Days at Shino pt 2

Chikako Sugiyama hummed a soft tune as she sat in the common yard of the academy, a wooden easel on her lap, and notes in front of her from the last class: The History of the Gotei 13. It was one of the obviously more lax classes as far as physical and spiritual prowess went, but you had to be pretty disciplined not to fall asleep. Chikako liked to think that she did rather well in the class, though the upcoming test would be the true test of things. It had been about a month since the entire class and she had been inducted, cliques and groups had been established, though as always there were outliers: p

Tanaka Cera, a young girl who seemed to float around between some of the rougher kids and to Chikako's confusion and intrigue, the ikebana club. It wasn't an official class, but one of the instructors apparently practiced the art quite a bit for a contest in his division, so he let others join in. It was mostly females, but the young noble figured that was something to be expected with what she considered a delicate art. p

There was also Oka Takeshi, one of the tallest in the school and easily the tallest in their advanced section. He seemed to socialize only with one person on a regular basis, and that was his much more vocal friend, Atoni Shao. He wasn't a bad guy in her opinion; he just kept to himself. Chikako had tried to talk to him once, wanting advice on how to word one of her papers about the basics of Kaido, and though his reply had been pretty short, it was helpful at least. Though she still found it odd how little interest he took in social life, especially with the amount of praise he got from his high marks. p

A sudden tapping on Chikako's shoulder brought the noble from her thoughts. She turned, suddenly staring into the green eyes of an actual shinigami, the instructor for Kaido in fact. He smiled lightly and offered her a hand up. She raised a brow but took it carefully, pulling herself up. p

"Kozu-san, did you need me for something?" she asked curiously, returning the smile politely. p

The younger looking man shook his head. "No not really, but I'm pretty sure that you don't wanna be late for your next class? I mean you haven't missed any of mine yet…but you looked pretty engrossed in….whatever it is that you're doing." He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. p

Chikako blinked, looking over at the large clock that was set up in the courtyard, her eyes going wide as she saw the time. "OH! I'm terribly sorry! I didn't even realize!" she panicked lightly, stumbling over herself as she attempted to pick up her things, causing Mamoru Kozu to laugh and put a hand on her shoulder in an effort to slow her. p

"Sugiyama, calm down, you have plenty of time. We're doing the next class out here anyway. Meditation shouldn't be done in a classroom, too stuffy." He chuckled lightly. "Now, I'm going back to the classroom to have the class come out here, I never got around to sending out the memos." the man shrugged as he walked off, giving her a friendly wave. p

Chikako smiled softly, closing her eyes and giving an amused hum. She had enjoyed Mamoru's classes and general company since arriving; apparently he was one of the newer members of the staff, a loaner from the 4th Division. Most people seemed to like him, both students and staff, based on what she had overheard anyway, and of course she liked him as well, for a teacher anyway. p

Cera grumbled inwardly as she sat with her legs crossed in the courtyard with the rest of her classmates. She didn't get this whole healing thing, why did she need to meditate for this and not something like Hado? Or at least she hadn't been asked to yet in her classes. i It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the damned quiet. I get enough of this when I'm doing Jinzen /i she continued these negative thoughts until a light tap was felt on her head. p

"What?!" she demanded with a disgruntled tone before stuttering. "O-oh! Kozu-san! I'm sorry I didn't even realiz-"her frantic apology was cut off by a soft chuckle. p

"You're not focused on this. That's perfectly fine; some people have trouble when it comes to meditation. What seems to be the problem?" the seated officer asked, sitting down in front of her and crossing his legs. p

Cera frowned a bit, looking up at the sky as she rocked lightly back and forth absent mindedly. "Well...it's too quiet. It may sound odd to you, but the silence is almost deafening, I need to hear i something /i other than breathing." she explained. p

Mamoru nodded lightly, scratching a bit of stubble on his cheek. "Well then I think I know what we can do. Next time we do this, we'll find somewhere with a bit of ambience. If you can't concentrate right now that's fine, just head on and wait for your next class. Oka-san!" he called to the tall man. p

Takeshi looked up from his meditative position to see who had called him before standing and moving over to Mamoru quickly. "Yes, sir?" he asked, slipping his Asauchi onto his back.p

"Take Tanaka-san to your next class, you're excused as well-OH! And send Yamamori my regards." he instructed, giving a light nod. p

The stern faced student nodded back and looked over to Cera. "You can lead." he muttered, following the much smaller girl, who moved with a brisk, confident stride. After almost a minute of silence as they walked the long halls she looked back at him. p

"Sooo, how's the top of the class? Do you get enough sleep? Do you even talk to other people? Or is all of this a ruse and you're bribing the teachers?" Cera smirked, her questions coming out without a breath in between. p

Takeshi let out a sigh, not looking down as he answered. "I'm not bribing anybody, I talk to people that both make an effort to speak with me, and have something interesting to say. I sleep plenty, though being in a meditative state also helps to relax. I didn't even know that I was top of the class, but it's good to know that I'm not working for nothing." p

His impromptu travelling companion gave him a quizzical stare, head tilted to the side just slightly. "Oh-ikay /i then..." she muttered, shaking her head. "You know a lotta people wanna get to know you better. I think they're just scared you'll beat the hell out of em." p

The man smiled at that, shaking his head. "So it's because I'm intimidating? Well I can't say I disagree...but why aren't you frightened?" p

Cera laughed, slowing up some so that they were side by side before reaching up and giving him a slap on the back. "Because I'm not scared of a damn thing!" p

Takeshi's smile only grew at her words. "Truly, nothing scares you? I think anyone who's graduated should scare you. Your zanjutsu score is terrible." he teased, though his voice hardly showed it. p

The short girl gasped, jumping up and punching him in the shoulder. "Hey! I kick ass with a blade! Just...not swords, or kendo...I don't do the whole stand and fight on even ground. Stupid, archaic ideas if you ask me." p

"Well if you really feel that something like that is obsolete, perhaps go to a Captain and ask them to fight you. I'm sure their archaic ideas are no match for you." he chuckled gently. "Why don't you like the style? It's actually quite modernized compared to what it used to be." p

"It's too direct..." she began to say as they entered the currently empty Zanjutsu classroom. "...I mean it works, but it's so damned boring to fight using such rigid techniques. Where's the flare, the passion? You give me a knife I'll carve a masterpiece, but this?" she paused, giving her Asauchi a hard slap on the hilt. "This is useless to me." p

Takeshi raised a brow. "You haven't been paying attention in class Tanaka, that 'useless' thing is just the start, a blank slate. Here, look at mine." p

He undid the leather wrap across his chest, tugging his Asauchi from his back and holding it out in front of him. It was much longer than Cera's with a blade coming in at almost a meter. The guard was gold in the shape of a sixteen-pedal chrysanthemum, the hilt below wrapped in Brandeis blue cloth and finally capped with gold at the bottom. p

"This sword started out just like yours, just like everyone else's starts: Blank, waiting to be imprinted with your own soul through Jinzen, use, and generally being around it. You don't like your blade because it isn't how you want it to be and it reflects that. Put time into learning your sword, and it will become a tool more suited to you." he explained, his voice taking a strangely authoritarian tone to it. p

Cera was dumfounded, surprised to hear such a strongly voiced answer, especially with how light of a topic it was to her. After a moment of collecting herself her eyes narrowed, "You know I thought you were all quiet and stoic, what gives with being all chatty?" she asked, crossing her arms. p

As Takeshi slipped his Asauchi onto his back he shrugged, taking in a breath. "Well it takes something of interest to get me talking, I told you that before. You have managed to be both interesting, and gotten my attention in another way. I want you to meet me out in the common area tomorrow, and every morning after before classes, or at the end of the day." he stated simply, not willing to accept a 'No' p

"What? Why?" the girl predictably asked, cocking her hip and narrowing her eyes at the man. p

"To see if I can help you out with getting that blade of yours into something more manageable." He grinned. p

"Wait wait, why me? There's gotta be a lot more people that asked you for some help and you just suddenly out of the blue offer me help? What gives?" she demanded, crossing her arms. p

"I help my friends, you can count yourself among that group now." he said simply. "You've got a fire in you, I like that." he shrugged, putting on a light smile. "Anyhow, we should probably take our seats, the rest of the class will be here pretty soon." he nodded, turning and heading into the classroom to take his seat, leaving Cera standing there with a mildly dazed and confused look on her face for several moments before she regained her composure. p

i 'Man this kid's weird, but hey why the hell not?' /I she thought with a small smile before running in after. "Hey! back seats, Takeshi!"p

"Good crop this year, what do you think Kozu?" asked the snow haired Ayako Yamamori, lifting a saucer of water to her lips as she cast an amethyst eye to the much younger seated officer that sat across the table. p

"I think that you and the other teachers have been doing a marvelous job these past few months. I have a few picks for who'll be graduating a bit early though." he grinned, taking a sip from a gourd bottle. The two of them often met during the month to discuss matters both personal and work related. Ayako had unofficially tasked Mamoru with the monitoring of the promising students in cream of the crop. He would try and get to know them on a personal level, to assess their mental and emotional traits. He felt that he had done a decent job of it this year. p

"Who would that be? You seem to have a good bit of premonition when it comes to the best students." she smiled, shifting to lie on her side, head propped up on a hand as she gazed expectantly at Mamoru. "Give me the information you have on them, not height and weight or things like that. You know what I like." p

The young man nodded and sighed lightly, sitting up and pulling out a folder. Several sheets of paper were neatly folded in it, most unmarked but a select few baring a red stamp on them that designated them as candidates to be moved up in the training process. It was completely voluntary, but denying something like this would be considered beyond stupidity. He selected one at random, looking over the carefully assembled dossier before summarizing what he thought Ayako would be interested in. p

"Well, there's Tanaka Cera for one. She's improved vastly since I first started to speak with her. She's got a future in 2nd Division I think. Her skill set would definitely hint at it anyway: Hakuda, Bakudo, Hoho, things like that." he smiled. "Healing isn't her strong suit, but not everyone can manage that. Her is improving nicely as I stated before, probably due to some extracurricular training with her fellow students." he shrugged. "Her non-combat class scores aren't the very best, but she's been slowly improving, though she seems very interested in any sort of history lecture, so at least she has respect for the past." he commented approvingly, flipping to another piece of paper. p

"Sugiyama Chikako is another, can't say I expected less of a Sugiyama, they've always done well as Shinigami. She's exceptional in Kido, proficient in Zanjutsu and Hoho, an overall good student. She reminds me of a Shiba really, doesn't put on noble airs like the rest of the high-born kids. In fact she's been inviting several other students to her family's property for lessons with her retainers, I really should see about..." p

"...Right, anyway onto the next." Mamoru said, noticing his host's bored expression. He went on to explain several other students, totaling up to 9 out of his top 10 before flipping over to the last of the pages. "Oka Takeshi is the last of my picks, very good in Zanjutsu, Kido is excellent as well, Hoho isn't as good as it could be but considering the high marks in all else I let it slip, especially considering some of his less i academic /i talents. He seems to have a connection to his Zanpakuto far beyond anyone else. To give you an example, he had thoroughly imprinted his soul in his Asauchi within the first month of being here. Though I don't know how deep the connection is exactly, I'd say that he's not too far from achieving Shikai. Relatively of course, within a couple of years." he added offhandedly. p

Ayako nodded lightly, sitting back up from her reclined pose and picking up the papers. "So these are the ones you want moved up eh? Alright I'll talk with some of the other instructors, get their approval to move some up. Good work Kozu, I'll pass on the praise to your Captain, maybe you'll be wearing a badge on your belt soon." she chuckled, standing and heading towards where most of the instructors' quarters were. "Make sure the students that get moved up are notified as soon as possible. Don't want them wasting time now do we?" she called back. p

Cera stared down at the letter that her friend had just handed her, and then back up at him, then down to the letter. He had received the letter last night, along with a few others and the contents knotted her stomach. p

"Well, what do you think of it Cera?" Takeshi asked as he undid the straps to his Zanpakuto's sheath and pulled it off, setting it on the ground as he knelt. p

"I THINK IT'S CRAP!" she growled, kicking the ground, yelping as her toes reminded her that ground was indeed, hard. She huffed loudly and sat sharply, cradling her foot. "They can't do this!" she protested, unsheathing her Asauchi, now a tanto sized blade and stabbing it into the ground in front of her. She folded her legs underneath her in a meditative pose as she grumbled audibly. p

"Can't what?" Takeshi smiled lightly, unsheathing his Zanpakuto and laying it gently on the ground in front of his knees. p

"Move you up! They can't separate us like that! We're the dynamic duo-" p

"Trio, dynamic trio Saru~" Xiao grinned as he sat down beside them both, positioning himself in the same meditative pose. "Not like I got a letter." he sighed. p

"There were very few that did. Though we're in the same building, so it's not as if we won't be seeing each other, we'll just have different schedules." Takeshi offered before taking in a deep breath. "I'm sure you'll get moved up soon though, you and I will still be meeting in the mornings after all." p

"Still...sucks." Cera grumbled before doing the same. "You better not reach Captain till I'm at least able to be Lieutenant." she grinned. p

"It's a race then." Takeshi smiled, looking down at his Zanpakuto. p

ui 'May we not falter in our step.' /u


End file.
